Abrau-Durso, Renna Group launch new ice cream production line

RUSSIA – Abrau-Durso, in collaboration with the Renna Group, has announced the production of ice cream bars coated in Belgian chocolate and infused with sparkling wine.

Renna will handle distribution through its own channels. The product will be available throughout Russia and in Abrau-Durso’s branded retail outlets in central and southern regions.

Pavel Titov, the President of the Abrau-Durso Group, stated, “We’ve become a bit more like confectioners: together with ‘Magnit,’ we developed candies with the addition of sparkling wine.”

While specific flavors and branding details have yet to be disclosed, industry insiders expect the ice cream to reflect Abrau-Durso’s upscale image, possibly incorporating wine-inspired elements or gourmet ingredients.

The launch aligns with broader trends in Russia’s food industry, where companies are increasingly blending luxury branding with everyday consumer goods.

The Abrau-Durso Group produces still and sparkling wines and owns 4,100 hectares of vineyards. In 2024, the company sold 66.86 million bottles (an 18% year-on-year increase). Revenue amounted to 15.79 billion rubles (+26%), with a net profit of 1.83 billion rubles (+43%).

Renna Group is one of the largest producers of ice cream and dairy products in Russia. Its portfolio includes brands like “Korovka iz Korenovki,” “Alekseevskoe,” and “Korenovochka.”

The products are supplied to 250,000 sales points and 20 countries. According to NTech, from July 2024 to June 2025, the “Korovka iz Korenovki” brand held 12.5% of the ice cream market in physical sales.

The new product comes as Analytical data from Nielsen for the first half of 2025 indicates a 4.5% decrease in ice cream sales in Russia compared to the same period in 2024.

In the first half of 2024, sales increased by 11.8% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 166.3 thousand tons.

Notably, the ‘impulse’ ice cream category, which showed a 14.2% growth in 2024, experienced a 3.6% decline this year. Family-sized ice cream also saw a decrease in sales by 8.0% after a 4.2% growth the previous year.

Experts link the overall decline in sales to rising prices and changing consumer preferences, notes Dmitry Dokin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kazakh Company “Shin-Line”.

According to data from CRPT, in June 2025, Russians bought less ice cream than the previous year—the number of packages decreased by 8%, and in terms of weight, purchases dropped from 53 to 48 thousand tons—nearly 10%. Ice cream production in June 2025 decreased by 7% to 65,000 tons, whereas a year ago, this figure was 70,000 tons, according to CRPT.

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